I Saw an Angel
by Lukas Avier
Summary: **Hunter!Cas Hunter!Gabe** Castiel was pulled from Hell by a mysterious force. Part of him wishes it to be an angel who had done it after seeing a man in the clearing when there wasn't another soul around. After Sam, Gabriel's angel, reveals that there was no way Castiel could have seen him (confirming he was an angel), the hunter is that much more determined to find him.
1. Chapter 1

Castiel saw the angel before Gabriel did.

His brother would claim that he did, that the angel told him he was there to protect Gabriel.

That was fine with Castiel. They didn't see the same angel anyway.

The angel Castiel saw had the brightest of green eyes and a mouth that quirked in an almost-grin in a way that seemed natural. He was different than the tall one Gabriel seemed so attached to. Castiel's angel pulled him out of Hell, gave him a change of clothes and another pair to keep, and left him in an area with the resources he would need to last a day or two.

Sure, Castiel only saw him for a moment in that small clearing but he was the only man there and he was so _beautiful_ in a sense that could only be seen as holy. And, maybe the hunter then wanted to believe that man could be an angel, that he was worth the effort of God's children to pull him out of the pit. It never hurt to hope.

* * *

"Hey, Cassie," Gabriel grinned at his little brother, watching as the other drew in his sketchbook. "What'cha doing?"

"I am drawing, Gabriel," Castiel answered. "I know you can see that."

"Yeah, but _what_ are you drawing?"

"I'm drawing-"

"An angel."

The youngest Novak jerked upright, eyes wildly going in the direction of the voice. There stood Gabriel's angel, the one his brother so fondly called Sam, looking over his shoulder at the drawing in Castiel's grasp. His hand was outstretched towards his brother, keeping him frozen. His eyebrows were scrunched up and the hunter never thought the first true emotion he'd see on the angel's face would be confusion.

He never thought the second would be hurt.

"Where-" Sam cleared his throat, surprise flickering across his features. "Where did you see this angel?"

Castiel studied the being in front of him, "I believe he was the one to pull me out of Hell."

"No, no, that's not-" The angel stopped, closing his eyes for a moment. "That angel does not exist."

"But he did. Who was he?"

Sam seemed to contemplate answering, "He's… He was my brother."

"I thought all angels were related, though."

"In a sense, we are. God, however, chose a pair of angels as his keepers, to watch over the proceedings of Heaven and pass judgement when Michael was unable to."

"So, you're powerful," Castiel shut his sketchbook, setting it aside to fully focus on the story.

"I was. When my brother and I, when we fought together, we were near equal to Michael himself. Alone…" Sam clenched and unclenched his fist, looking out the window, "Alone, I am just another angel. Father -God- decided that we wielded too much power. He made it so we had to be near each other in order to fully access it."

"Like soulmates."

"Yes, like soulmates. The angels didn't like it, however. They believed we didn't deserve our power. So, they attacked when we were at our weakest."

Castiel's eyes widened, "Your weakest?"

"We fell in love, Castiel. I met a young woman years back by the name of Jessica. She was- She was probably the one woman I would become human for- the one woman I would fall for." He turned to the hunter, "And then they killed her. They killed my brother's lover, too. We were grieving and I… I left him, I ran. The angels managed to overtake my brother. I never saw him again."

The hunter was shocked. Never had he expected any of this. He had always thought angels were righteous and pure, and yet they had killed humans because they did not like the power God had given a pair of angels who were supposed to be their family.

"He doesn't exist anymore, Castiel Novak. It is futile to hold on to him." Sam put down his hand, releasing Gabriel from his hold. "Have a… Good day."

Gabriel shook his head, "What the hell? What just- Why does my head feel weird?"

Castiel bit his lip, "Maybe you had too much sweets."

"Nah, bro. There's never such thing as too much sweets!" Gabriel still looked out of it, if not a bit skeptical as well, but seemed to abandon what he was saying previously and headed to his bed, "You should get some sleep, Cassie."

"I think," Castiel gave his sketchbook a quick glance. "I will take a walk." The hunter had always taken walks to clear his head after a hunt or sometimes when he was thinking too much. After thirty minutes, or even an hour, he would find himself becoming sleepy and head back to the motel. This time, though, Castiel had a plan.

"Alright, don't get lost or eaten!"

* * *

Castiel felt like an idiot doing this but he didn't know what else to do.

He soon found himself in a small clearing about ten minutes from the motel, pacing around. What would he say? He had planned on trying and contacting the angel he swore he saw despite Sam telling him he didn't exist anymore. He had to know for certain, had to know for himself if someone truly cared enough to save him.

Taking off his trench coat, he haphazardly threw it on the dirt, ignoring the fact that he probably stained it. He walked over to the middle of the clearing and tilted his head up and closed his eyes, knowing that the angels didn't actually care whether humans were kneeling or not while praying.

 _I don't know what I am really doing anymore or if you are even listening, but part of me hopes you are. I must know if you had pulled me out of Hell and, if so, why. I have done more wrong than not and I didn't deserve what you did for me. I do not even know your name. Please, if you are listening, give me a sign. My name is Castiel Novak._

The hunter slowly opened his eyes and was vaguely disappointed when he was met with the same small clearing. What was he expecting? A big grand gesture revealing the same man he thought he saw the day he was pulled out of Hell?

He angrily stomped the ground, frowning to himself. No one saved him. Castiel turned around and went to scoop up his trench coat when he noticed it was gone. He looked up and found it sitting on a rock, all clean and folded up neatly.

He gasped.

This was the sign he had been looking for.


	2. Chapter 2

After that night, Castiel had taken to finding time alone so he could pray to the angel. He didn't know what the angel looked like, if he was the same one he ended up drawing, but he knew there was someone looking out for him after they had left that sign for him. It meant more to him than anyone would think. Castiel was used to being ignored, to everyone focusing on his loud brother and not on the quiet man in the background. To say it was nice that someone was looking after _him_ meant oh, so much.

"You're acting weird," Gabriel frowned at him, sitting up slightly on the motel bed.

Castiel looked over, placing down his sketchbook to focus on his brother, "How so? I do not see how I am any different than yesterday."

"You've been going out more," The Novak said. "You seem… Anxious, I guess. And happy. Like, really happy, Cassie."

"Don't call me that. There is no harm in being happy, Gabriel."

"There isn't," The hunter shook his head earnestly. "But, I just wanted to know _why_ you're happy."

"I just am," Castiel stood up, clutching his sketchbook under his armpit. "I am going for a walk. I will be back in an hour."

"See? This is what I mean! Where are you going?"

"Out, Gabriel. You know I enjoy walking at this time."

* * *

Castiel took a deep breath- _in.. Out.. And… In…_

Technically, he spoke with the angel, or at him, he should say, so he shouldn't be so nervous, right? Well, he was. In fact, he was so nervous he was starting to feel sick. It wasn't like he was standing face-to-face to the angel. He just had to think about it as a tape recording. He was overthinking everything, making himself freak out over something so small.

If someone could call talking to an angel "small."

He was starting to get a headache, his head pounding like his thoughts were trying to get out and he felt his stomach roll. He clutched his stomach, silently cursing himself. He straightened, however, when there was a flutter behind him and a sound of something dropping to the ground.

Turning slowly, Castiel looked down to see a small box with a couple of wet rags and some pills for a headache, "Ah, thank you…" So, the angel was watching over him. Why didn't he show himself, though? "I appreciate it."

For a moment, a warm breeze passed and happiness filled Castiel down to his core.

* * *

From then on, Castiel started bringing things on his little journey. They weren't much, just some trinkets he found as he and his brother traveled, but, for some reason, he knew the angel would like them. He placed them on the floor in front of him as he sat down criss-crossed. One of the objects was a miniature windmill and he stuck it in the dirt with a smile. It was his way of telling if the angel was here or not so that he was not talking to thin air. It seemed to make the angel happy as he spun it one way, and then the other, the breeze warm and wonderful.

"Um," Castiel cleared his throat, adjusting the windmill. "Hello there. I brought you some objects, if you would care to look at them."

There was a small moment before the windmill started turning slowly, the green of the shiny plastic shimmering in the sun.

"Okay," He grabbed his bag from next to him, opening it and taking out some things. "I have, um, a flower I pressed into a bookmark. It is a daisy I found in front of the motel by some weeds. I thought it was quite beautiful.

There was a shimmer of light and Castiel could almost feel another person's hand in his own, like they were gently running their fingertips over the flower in awe. Then, in the blink of an eye, the daisy bookmark was gone, presumably with the angel.

"Ah, well," Castiel blinked in shock before he returned to his bag when a breeze brushed against him, like a cat waiting to be pet. He brought out a book, "This is a Stephen King novel, The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger. He is one of the most respected authors in the United States." He watched as that, too, disappeared as the bookmark once had.

The windmill turned again and the dirt picked up a little bit in front of Castiel. The spinning of the plastic toy was halted, like someone was grabbing onto it and making it turn instead of letting the wind carry it along.

That was when Castiel realized that the angel was actually sitting in front of him, simply concealed.

"Is there- Is there any food you like to eat? Um, breakfast, lunch, dessert?" At the last word, the windmill spun like crazy, like he pulled it back and turned it with all his might. "Okay, dessert. Any particular kind?"

There was a sound of a tap on the dirt, drawing the hunter's eyes down, and Castiel watched in awe as the letters _p-i-e_ appeared with a smiley face. The Novak could tell that his angel was different than Gabriel's just for the fact that he conveyed emotion, even if it was with a simple face drawn in dirt.

"I will bring pie next time," Castiel murmured softly, nodding to himself. "I will be back tomorrow if I can."

The windmill turned once more before it stopped completely. His angel was gone again.

* * *

"Bro, are you-are you baking?" Gabriel looked at his brother with round eyes, appearing a bit nervously.

"Yes, I am making pie," Castiel said proudly as he held a crumpled paper with a recipe he took from the library downtown.

"Pie?"

Sam came over, looking a bit curious, and Castiel couldn't help but tense because he didn't want the other to know he was talking to his brother, the angel that "shouldn't exist." It was probably wrong to keep that to himself but this was _his_ angel. He trusted him to not speak of his existence and it was the least Castiel could do since he was the one that pulled him out of Hell.

The blue-eyed hunter just nodded, straightening out the paper on the small counter space the hotel provided.

"Cassie, hate to break it to you but we don't have an oven," Gabriel piped up, flopping on one of the beds.

Castiel looked around him, finding that his brother was, indeed, correct, "Oh."

"Here," Sam waved his hand and one appeared, taking the place of useless cabinets. "I will remove it once your pie is done baking."

"Thank you, Sam. I appreciate it."


End file.
